Wendy Caswell | Attack by Mitch McConnell is a badge of honor

Wendy Caswell

As the president of the Louisville Tea Party, I am proud to have been attacked in a web video by our 30-year incumbent senator, Mitch McConnell.

Proud? That might seem like an odd thing to be proud of. Let me explain.

Mitch McConnell ran an attack ad against conservative Republican Matt Bevin, who is challenging Sen. Mitch McConnell in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate in 2014. In the attack ad, he condemns Mr. Bevin for supporting my candidacy in a Democratic primary against a liberal, union-supporting state representative in a race in which there was no Republican candidate.

According to McConnell, Kentuckians should only support candidates and ideas based on labels - not based on beliefs. According to McConnell, if the Republican establishment proposes an idea, he supports it, even if the policy is harmful for Kentucky and for the future of our great nation.

That's why McConnell supported Trey Grayson over conservative stalwart Rand Paul in 2010. That's why McConnell went along when the Republican Party increased the size of government and allowed federal spending to explode during the Bush years. That's why McConnell supported the bailouts of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the big Wall Street banks that acted irresponsibly for years during the real estate boom. And, that's why McConnell voted to increase the debt limit at least nine times.

Because that is what most politicians do in Washington - they go along to get along.

As minority leader, McConnell is the de facto leader of the Republican Party, but being called a "leader" is not the same thing as actually leading. In fact, McConnell hasn't done much leading at all lately. Just take a look at the latest conservative effort to defund Obamacare. While conservatives like Sens. Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Mike Lee are leading the fight to defund Obamacare before its implementation on Oct. 1, Sen. McConnell refuses to tell reporters where he stands and is working behind the scenes to scuttle the effort.

Kentuckians are a proud, independent people, and we expect the same from our political representatives. We are proud to have people like Paul and Thomas Massie represent us - people who will stand up for conservative principles, not political power.

And that is why I am proud to be attacked by Mitch McConnell and personally endorse Matt Bevin for the U.S. Senate.

Sen. Mitch McConnell represents the old guard in Washington, D.C., that cares more about holding on to power than defending the principles of limited government, fiscal responsibility and individual freedom.

Those are the principles that Bevin believes in. I know he believes in those fundamental conservative ideals because he has embodied them in his life's experiences.

Growing up poor, he worked his way through college and joined the military. He started companies - some big, some small - and created jobs in Kentucky and all across the country. And after being successful in business, he gave back to his community. He was the president of the Red Cross board of directors in Louisville; he built an orphanage in Africa and a school for women and girls in India; he started and donated his money to nonprofits in Louisville.

When the Republican aristocracy in Kentucky told Bevin not to run for U.S. Senate, he didn't back down. When they threatened to destroy him politically and personally, he was only more determined to offer Kentucky voters a choice.

That's the kind of senator I want in Washington D.C., someone who will stand up when our government spends our hard-earned tax dollars on wasteful, big-government programs, not someone who will kowtow to the status quo. I want to be represented by someone who is not afraid to make noise in Washington, not afraid to fight for what he believes in.

In my capacity as president of the Louisville Tea Party, I have heard a lot of people in Kentucky complain about the leadership in Washington, D.C. Luckily, we live in the greatest democracy in the world, where we have the right and the privilege to make our complaints and our voices heard at the ballot box.

And that is exactly what I plan on doing in 2014.

WENDY CASWELL

Founder and President

Louisville Tea Party

Louisville 40203

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Wendy Caswell | Attack by Mitch McConnell is a badge of honor

As the president of the Louisville Tea Party, I am proud to have been attacked in a web video by our 30-year incumbent senator, Mitch McConnell.